Sonia Gandhi, India's ruling Congress party chief, is just not a politician and came out with her well-informed views on a subject far removed from the hurly burly politics--fashion in women’s dress.

And drawing a cue from

her mother-in-law Indira Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi's formula for fashion statement is: “keep it simple”.

Addressing a convocation of National Institutre of Fashion Technology in her parliamentary constituency Rae Bareli on Wednesday, Sonia pointed to a recent trend in fashion to overdo or overembellish dresses and recalled how Indira Gandhi had worn simple sarees and had an “innate sense of fashion”.

“The simplicity of Indiraji's elegance was globally admired”, recalled Sonia.

Draped in a yellow saree, Sonia told the fashion students that “In the recent years, I have noticed a trend in Indian fashion to overdo, to over-embellish clothes. Sometimes, a single garment will have zardozi, beads, patchwork as well as

crystals. Apart from overshadowing the wearer, such garments are uncomfortable to wear and lack elegance.

She said “fashion, in my view, does not mean opulence. Indira Gandhi, who was also an MP from Rae Bareli, had a unique sense of fashion and the simplicity of her elegance was admired all over the world. Adding more ornamentation to garments is very easy but that does not add to fashion,” the UPA Chairperson said.